Or as I call it, Hula-looping All girls / 3 Generations, End of Sumer Roadtrip Adventures ...14 states in 9 days, or so it started.

My oldest daughter and myself planned out a loop around the western and midwest states starting from ﻿California﻿, our home town heading up north to hit these as highlights Glacier National Park and then over to South Dakota to do their National Parks and attractions visiting family in Oklahoma and ending back home via the South Western states. We drove the longer scenic highways for most of our trip and enjoyed it immensely.

I had the brilliant idea of Hula-hooping at the State-lines, adding on hoops at each stop with a grand finale of all 14 hoops swirling about. And doing this, having just picked up a hulahoop for the first time since childhood.

Tip: We began by mapping out our trip using a combo of various online apps. From ﻿Google maps﻿and Road trippersand AAA Trip TIk. These apps work great and you can edit as you go. We rented a small SUV at our local Hertz, using our AAA discount. We chose a 4x4 vehicle, with lots of space incase we ended up needing to sleep in the vehicle out of desperation. Turns out we did not need to bring our blow up mattress and camping gear, there are planting of roadway motels, hotels, hospitality brands from 2 to 5 stars to choose from everywhere we landed. Although we did come close to sleeping in the car a few times.

We had plans to rip through California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming on the way up as well as Texas, New Mexico and Arizona on the way backbecause I have been, visited and road tripped to these states numerous to more than dozens of times over the past 20 years. Although, we did in fact make time for 2 short stops, in addition to the hooping stops at the state lines, one at Gold Strike Casinoto check out the Fast & Furious 7, how apropos(which should be the name of this blog post ! ) and Batman movie car display (a short and free walk-thru on the casinos main floor) and a stop in Utah to reunite with a middle school friend I hadn't seen in over 30 years. We rendezvous at a local St. George juice stop where 20 minutes, became a hour.By Nevada we were already caught up in T-storms, showers, winds, downpours and lightening, a sign of what was yet to come? Our theme song, played throughout the trip was... "Go Big or Go Home" !

More than an hour behind we made our way up and landed on our first night in Salt Lake City, Utah, at midnight !After calling every motel and hotel around in the 100.00 a night or less category, we were slammed, there was an event taking place, no rooms available. We were beat, tired and truly a little freaked out ... the people we saw hanging out around these places were a bit seedy to say the least. Sitting in our car, on our cell phones, google searching hotels in SLC, some strange twist of luck my daughter had a room on the line, somehow she was in contact with a central reservation system and a nice young man named Mathew just so happen to have a room, a room as he put it, "Most people don't know about" and it was available, a tiny little accommodation and for just 59.00 a night. We said we'll take it !

We pull up to the hotel, it was called,Little America, we had never heard of it, not familiar with the brand and to our amazement, we were pulling up into a covered carport next to a large Grand Hotel.The hotel was old, but well kept, check-in polite and quick with key in hand we sleepily made our way to our upstairs room. Turns out this hotel is SLC most luxurious AAA 4 diamond hotel and the largest in SLC, with 850 rooms.

*I'm highlighting our stay here because it was a great value for those that may find themselves in SLC and in need of a place to crash.

The rest of our stays in MT, SD, were in standard motels & hotels :: Grand Rapids Inn, Comfort Inn, Days Inn which were all under 100.00 and came with free breakfast, wifi, clean and safe. Warm welcomes by friendly locals. Breakfasts were great, make your own fresh waffles, ready made eggs/omlettes, dry cereals and oatmeal, yogurt, coffee/tea/juices, some even had sausage and biscuits & gravy. Our hotels of choice for the other half of SD, MO, OK, NM were Sheratons and an Aloft, at a discount, luxurious in comparison to the previous. All booked over the phone or online via our cell phones en route.

Refreshed and ready we roamed the Little America main lobby and shops a little bit, made a purchase in their gift shop for the Grandbaby and off we went, heading north to Montana. We drove the Hwy 15 and made a stop at the USU Botanical Gardensin Kaysville, enjoyed our little walk around of the gardens.

Continuing up we drove though Idaho, I had hoped to stop off at the Idaho Potato Museum & Gift shop, but we must have missed it, next time) We stopped in Pocatello / Inkom for some hooping with Imus, lots of historic signs and spots... The Shoshone Indians named the area around present day Inkom, "Ingacom". A reference to the rock formation on the eastern side of town, where one can see the remnants of the "Red Hare".

We stopped and took some selfies in the Idaho Falls area at a rest stop where we picked up guides of all the states and parks we were going to be visiting and then jumped on Interstate 20, more selfies at the Targhee National Forest sign.We drove through bits of West Yellowstone National Park, and Wyoming on Hwy 191.

< It was beginning to be clear we were entering INDIAN TERRITORY >

If you are into mining and rockhounding these states are for you... they have opal mines in Idaho and sapphire mines in Montana, black hills gold in South Dakota and diamonds in Arkansas and rock stores to buy rocks and minerals in all sizes from hand held to pick-a-pound throughout.

Our drive to Montana was electrifying ! Thunderstorms that lit up the black sky in the far distance. Pink and white strikes, rain and the smell of smoke from the recent fires in Idaho and Glacier National Forest. We had a radio warning at one point, but luckily it was from where we had been and not for where we were going, we weren't sure what we were in for when we got there..

Through Bozman and onward we smelled strong fire and saw misty smoke all around us, breathing became a bit heavier, I was ready to turn back ! But we ventured onward... Hwy 90 to the 15 got us to our destination. We stayed in Helena, checked out their state capital building all lit up at night, and awoke early to continue our drive North.

Montana & Glacier National Park

On the way from Helena toGlacier National Park, we tookthe Montana 200 to the Montana 209 taking us through Swan Valley, a route filled with lots of lakes, Seeley and Lake Placid might ring a bell. Here you will find lots of recreational things to do. We stopped into the Seeley Lake Historical Museum and Vistors Center, where we were met by a very friendly dog and were given a brief tour of the museum, spent some time hooping at Salmon Lake, ventured off around Holland Lake / Swan caves. Then back on the road Swan Hwy 83 to Hwy 35 to Glacier National Park to Hwy 2.

Immediately upon reaching the Glacier National ParkGateway entrance bridge, the air felt crisp ... signs read ALBERTA CANADA (I had to second guess if I needed my passport !) WE bi-passed the Park Headquarters a few minutes drive and we were at the parks west entrance, bought an annual pass, knowing that we would continue to hit National parks throughout our trip. We stopped at Lake McDonald, clear and smooth as glass, with no one around, just one kayaker, did some hooping, then drove the "Going to the Sun, road", stopping at pools and waterfalls, driving upward and around the glacier through tunnels and and twisting roads, most of the forest was green, hard to see the glacier through all the misty haze, on the back end we drove through the freshly burnt forest and miles later through an older fire area. Sad to see all the de-foresting and destruction caused by fires. By the time you get to Logan Pass Visitor Center, it's COLD ! There was an area for mountain goat sightings, but not today. The highlight of the drive was coming out the backside to a baby black bear cruising along beside our car. (see video clip below)

NATIONAL FOREST PARK PASSFor 80.00 this annual pass gets you into quite a lot of places. National Forests... you still have to pay for state parks and Indian / non- federally owned places like Crazy Horse and Custer ..

For their Centential they are offering each and every 4th grader who pledges, a FREE Annual Park Passto share with friends and family.

Exiting at the St. MarysEntrance driving to Great Falls, Montana our next landing spot, we saw 2 steer one brown just on the side of the road and once black crossing it in front of our car after that all we saw were miles of farmland with rolled up wheat bails, beautiful horses, cattle and dairy cows for days. Delapidated old farmhouse fixtures, silos and corn, lots of corn.In Great Falls we visited the Lewis & Clark Interprative Center(interactive and fun for the kids) Missouri River and surrounding sites. Stopped at the smallest river in America, in Giant Springs, a fresh water spring found by L & C. and checked out the Rainbow falls and dam and fish hatchery.

The Roe River is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's shortest river. The Roe flows 200 feet between Giant Springs and the Missouri River near Great Falls. The Roe River competes with the D River in Lincoln City, Oregon for the title of the shortest river.

Roe River at Giant Springs

Traveling 7 hrs east through Montana through lots of little towns, through a corner of North Dakota, in Bowman, we found acres of Sunflower fields and Giant jumbo Dandelions while off roading. North Dakota is one of the biggest producers of Sunflowers (seeds and oil) over 1 million acres of these beauties to see from April to late October.(I will definitely be coming back again) We jetted downHwy 85 south Bowman to Spearfish our next stay, the beginning of everything !

Oh Give me a home where the Buffalo roam and the deer and antelope play, it's so true here ! You want Historic, western towns, wildlife, America then this is the state.

After doing all of this my suggestions would be, do Badlandsmid day to sunset. Bring carrots to feed the donkeys and mules at Custer and go around mid afternoon to 5.00p lots of Buffalo and Bison coming down to graze by the road. Be sure to drive the road with the curving tunnel down to view Rushmore, Hwy 16 and do view their night show, so go around dusk. Crazy Horse has a fee to get into and a whole separate fee to actually go up to the monument. We were able to get a couple of pieces of granite rock for a small donation to bring back to my rockhounding husband and they have a night light show. Have lunch at Wall Drug. Spend an entire day in Deadwood doing the tours, riding the trolley, watching the shootouts and stories. Do the stamping activity you can do throughout the town, to win your choice of a chocolate bar and/or western playing cards. We stayed in Spearfish, a little better priced than Deadwood and you get to drive through their beautiful canyon on your way to the other sites. When we got to the Badlands there was no one to check our National Park pass, so it was free to get in and out.

This guy had my heart

Sioux Falls, South Dakota is where we landed next, woke up drove around looking at churches and architecture and headed over to the ﻿Falls Park﻿, where the 1 mile long falls pour into pools, (my pictures really do it no justice so i've added a little video clip) there we fed some geese while admiring the falls.

We then began our long journey shooting down south toward Kansasthrough Nebraska& Iowayou see CORN more corn than you could ever imagine, SEAS of corn ! Our goal was Wamego, Kansas to tour the OZ museum, nothing authentic but lots of memorabilia and collectibles. The entry cost is near nothing and it took less than 20 minutes to walk through it all. We stopped to check out the capital building in Topeka as well as drive a short distance through one of their state parks.

Missouri . Arkansas . Oklahoma

We reached Kansas City, Missouri in the evening, the streets were a ghost town, with old brick buildings mixed with modern architecture. We drove around in awe of the gloomy clouds against the city, venturing around street after street. After check in and I have to add a free upgrade to the club level, by the Sheraton KC, walked over to the Crown Centerwith the Crayola Cafe and Lego store via "the link" tunnels while we awaited room service to arrive.

Our drive through Missouri lead us to great finds with President Harry S. Truman State Historical sites like his Birthplaceand family farm (where you do a self guided tour via your phone),as well as George Washington Carver National Monumentand museum (that was a favorite !) He's not just the peanut man !

Arkansasand the Ozarks, we drove the Ozark National Forest onHwy 44, the one thing I would have liked to do is dig for diamonds in Murfreesboro (next time). With my cousins recommendations we drove to Van Buren, Fort Smith, (top 10 true western towns of the year 2015) there they have a small amusement area, railroad, civil war history along with modern day shops, stores and restaurants.

Hitting Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at night, my cousin who lives 20 minutes away drove in, met us at our hotel and gave us a night tour of the sites around Bricktown, the OKC National Memorial, the antique market area, stadium, we had a bite to eat and then in the a.m. we took a quick walking tour around the Riverwalk Plaza/canal and drove around to see the capital building and surrounding areas, then off to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Oklahoma, we will be back !

Texas . New Mexico . Arizona

Along the hwy 40 drive we drove pieces of Route 66, and did a stop at theRoute 66 Museumin Elk City . Use your AAA card for a small discount. The entry fee is next to nothing. Lots of memorabilia, cars, motor bikes, history and displays to view. You can buy a cold ice-cream in the little soda shop in the tiny town, inside that you walk thru.

Amarillo,Texas, we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch getting to lend our hands at spray painting some graffiti on the cars, thanks to a friend of the artist who was there.

New Mexico is beautiful to drive through with landscape changes from Volcanic rock to desert chaparral to red rock. The railroad follows along and you find yourself chasing trains as you drive. We stopped and theN﻿M Visitors cente﻿rand checked out a little indian trading post called Chief Yellow horse at the statelines. Turns out we had lost a day somewhere in our travels the night before so came up short and had to bypass our plans to drive to Roswell and visit the UFO museum there. (we had had second thoughts anyhow about taking the grand baby there this early, so we will catch it on our next run) Next, we drove through the scenic route through Arizona going through their National Forest with pine trees, which was a nice break after all the desert, cacti and rock formations as we passed, past places we've visited more than 20 years ago like the crater and petrified forest to name a few rolled by, along with memories of road trips past on our way from going BIG to going HOME.

I am certain I am leaving some things out but I think you get the picture.. whether you do the Fast and Furious version or slow and steady, I think everyone should spend time with there families on a road trip, you really get a sense of this great nation of ours, the history, the beauty, the art, cultures and the freedom of living in this amazing place.

In case you weren't paying attention. We started with14 statesand ended with 17 states visited.

Total Miles Driven by my daughter, singly = 5,000 (5234 to be exact) *Hertz didn't even blink. We purchased unlimited miles and there were no cross country hidden fees contrary to what was written online.

Over ﻿4,000﻿photos and videos taken.And if you were curious as to how the hooping went.Well, here's acollage of photos of me at some of the statelines and a video of my last one with 14 out of 17 hoops (2 broke)

Do buy an Annual National Park passDospend a lot of time in South DakotaDo rent a car with lots of charging plugs for back seat tourist photos and electronicsDobring a selfie stick and use itDon'tmap out your entire trip, leave it open, you never know what may add on or drop off of your plansDo talk to locals, hotel employees, they give great advice Do download apps for hotels, maps, I loved using the hands free google app.

If you are like me and have seen all of the western states and want more time I would suggest a fly out to Montana and start from there. Begin in Bozeman vs Helena That's what I am doing on my next adventure through these states doing a MINING theme with my husband, re-visiting the hotspots and mines, taking my time.

Tip: Contact the credit card companies that you will be using while out of the state to let them know that you are doing so. Even though I knew this for out of the country travel, I never thought to do it for within the U.S. That way they will not shut down your credit cards while you are out, this happened to me on this road trip about 1/2 way thru and even after I called them and updated everything, they shut me down again a few days later in another state. Just give them the name of the states and/or countries you will be visiting and the timeline for your travel

If you have any road trip questions specific to this blog post ... please contact me via my email provided under the contact tab above and I will give you all I've got !